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Category: Desert Storm

As the Commander of the 50th General hospital
during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1991), I got to know Col. Don
Trunkey pretty well. He was our Chief of
Professional Services and was always busy keeping the medical/surgical side of
things on a straight and narrow path. He
presided over our M and M (Morbidity and Mortality) Conferences, and tolerated
no nonsense in professional performance or behavior. This was accomplished in the company of a
splendid sense of humor.

When LTG Yeosock, our 3rd Army Commander, developed a gallbladder infection and needed surgery, I asked Don to manage the situation as I knew if I were to get involved, I would end up as a middleman which would create a problem-prone situation, not to mention adding unnecessary delays . Don met with GEN Schwarzkopf (the Central Command Commander-and LTG Yeosock’s boss) to advise him how medical treatment for LTG Yeosock could be managed; and a decision was made to evacuate the general from the theater of operations and have him treated in Germany. Don and Col. Dan Cavanaugh, one of our General Surgeons, went to Germany with their patient, and performed the surgery. A quick recovery and return to duty followed; setting the stage for the initiation of the Allied ground offensive.

As one of the nation’s leading trauma surgeons, Don was
always an advocate for documenting wound management and preserving this data
for analysis; so that any information that could be identified as ‘lessons
learned’ would be on record. He was
particularly interested in seeing that this was done during Operation Desert
Storm.

I remember sitting down with Don at Fort Lewis as we were
being out-processed for discharge from active duty, and together working on a
large stack of Officer Efficiency Reports which were due at that time. Misery does love company.

Don was recognized by the AMEDD (Army Medical Department) for his distinguished career and his contribution to military medicine by induction into the Order of Military Merit. Recognition he justly warranted.

After the first Gulf War, Don joined with us in the 50th
General hospital Association. In spite
of the considerable distance between Seattle and Portland he and Jane were able
to make several of our reunions, and enjoyed seeing old friends and visiting
the Fort Lewis area.

I first met Dr. Trunkey as an intern at Madigan Army Medical Center in 1988. Dr. Trunkey was doing his active duty training there and he was a Colonel in the US Army Reserve. He spent a significant part of a day teaching in educational conferences and meeting with the residents. As an iconic figure in trauma, I did not expect Dr. Trunkey to take the time to personally get to know each of the residents but this is exactly what he did. I was immediately impressed with his breadth of knowledge and his ability to impart it. I still remember many of the topics we discussed that day and the words of wisdom he imparted

During the time Dr. Trunkey was at Madigan, I was assigned the first case of my career as an operating surgeon, a needle localized breast biopsy and I was shocked to find out that Dr. Trunkey, the famous trauma surgeon, was assigned as the attending. So, essentially, right out of medical school, I was doing a case with 1 of the top 5 trauma surgeons in the country. But it was a breast biopsy, not a GSW to the heart but Dr. Trunkey was very patient with me and even with a breast biopsy, he was able to teach surgical concepts I carried with me for the rest of my career. I considered the case to be a success because a trauma surgeon and a future trauma surgeon completed the case without massive bleeding!

That very brief exposure to Dr. Trunkey at the beginning of my career played a huge role in my decision to become a trauma surgeon in the future. As the Chief of Trauma at OHSU, following in Dr. Trunkey’s footsteps, I feel honored to have learned from Dr. Trunkey and then later to have served as a colleague.